CHAPTER 143

Geneveive Tessa Robert

 

I applied makeup, did my glossy blonde hair in a bun (I had changed the colour during the weekend), and wore my favourite red long dress with enough lining to reveal my glowing thighs. I doused my body with a new brand of perfume Vee had recommended and wore my ear rings. I smiled at my appearance. 

 

This was enough to make a statement at the Roberts Charity Gala. Dad had founded Robert’s foundation after the twins came. He saw it as another way to give to society. He had other NGOs he was affiliated with, but he wanted the one he owned and could invest in without the usual politics.

I checked myself again and walked out of the room to check on the kids. They were attending the gala for the first time, and I needed to ensure they were comfortable.

 

‘Hope, are you and your brother ready to attend the event? Your friends would be there, but not all of them, and there will be no games. Just long talks and dancing.’

 

Hope giggled. ‘Momma, we are ready. Nico, you will keep me company if you go dancing.’

 

I smiled. I have never understood the twin bond until I settled one day and observed how Hope held her brother high, and he did too. They could fight sometimes, but other times, they were each other's heroes. 

 

‘Alright. Let me get Nico, and we can leave.’

 

‘Momma, is Kyle coming with us? We miss him.’

 

I stopped my steps. Kyle was still in Nashville handling business, and from our last conversation, he will be returning in three months. Planet O and building a new branch here needed a lot of planning and meeting investors, businessmen, and high-profile personalities who were willing to invest in his dream. He wanted to convert Planet O into an energy and telecommunications industry. It required a lot of funding and time. He promised to return once he completed everything.

 

His voice showed how much he missed the kids, and I could feel the father’s bond too. He did care, after all. I stared at Hope, wondering how I was going to tell her about Kyle’s latest update.

 

I walked towards her, smiling. ‘Honey, Kyle is a bit occupied, but he will visit us once he is available, okay?’

 

She pouted. ‘Are you sure, momma? He promised to take us swimming during the mid-term break and teach me how to play Monopoly. My friends are already good at it.’

 

‘I can teach you monopoly, and James can take you and Nico to the swimming pool during the break. 

 

She protested. ‘Momma, you don’t know how to play it, and Uncle Jamy isn’t Kyle. I will wait for him.’

‘Okay. Let me get Nico, and we can leave, okay? Your uncle will be here soon, so eat up fast.’ I said, leaving her with her bowl of cereal. They were already attached to Kyle, and there was nothing I could do to change it.

Nothing.

The charity ball was everything. The glamour, the media, and the flood of celebrities everywhere made me smile. I noticed Mom clinging to a super male model. He was whispering to her, and she was laughing too loud. I shook my head. I still wondered how she had remained faithful to Dad. She had a lot of oglers and admirers for years, and I never saw Dad accuse her of infidelity or what she did to him. They were and still are my role models.

 

I had also been faithful to one man all my life. Kyle King was the first and only man to see everything about me, including my body. The dates I had after the divorce were purely platonic and nothing more. A few tried to get between my legs, but I was quick to evict them from my life. I didn’t want to start a life of body counts.

 

I removed my gaze from them and focused on the kids. They were with my dad and other children who had come with their family. He was dancing with them, or, would I say, they were dancing with him because Dad lacked the skills of dancing. I guess God couldn’t give us everything.

 

‘Hi, Tessa. You look beautiful,’ a young Mexican man said, sitting next to me.

 

Rude.

 

I adjusted, giving him a safe distance. ‘Thank you. I don’t think we have met.’

 

He smiled. ‘Yes, we have but years ago. I am Roberto, one of James' high school friends? I used to come over to your family house back then to play video games with James. You hated my guts then.’

 

I looked at him, trying to fit in his scent, black curly hair and extremely gorgeous face into a memory. It clicked faster than I remembered. The Roberto I knew used to be chubby and always called me ‘sunshine.’ I hated him because of that. His family had moved to Mexico after  his high school graduation and James lost contact with him a few years later. I guess they finally found a way to reconnect. 

I drew in a breath and smiled. ‘I remember you, now. What happened to the chubbiness?’

 

He chuckled, flexing his arms. He was wearing a suit which didn’t hide his physique.  Show off. ‘I grew up and Mexico toughened me. I returned to Arizona years ago and rekindled my friendship with your brother. He told me you were married but I can see you aren’t anymore.’

 

I followed his gaze to my ringless finger. I curled my fingers immediately. ‘I see you have been keeping an update on my life since then. How about you? Married or still an annoying jerk?’

 

‘I am still single just like your brother. I was thinking you might want to hang out after this event. You are still my number one sunshine.’

 

I sighed. I was bored already. ‘I am not hanging out with a baby, okay? And you should stop calling sunshine!’

 

He rose up, bringing out his card. ‘You should call me, then. We've got a lot to catch up on, sunshine.’

 

I glared at him as he dropped the card on the table and walked away, laughing like a mad man.

 

Some jerks never change after all.